Self-shedding downspout shield for eaves troughs



Mareh 3, 1959 .1B BLAU 2,875,712

SELF-SHEDDING DOWNSPOUT SHIELD FOR EAVES TROUGHS Filed April 11. 1956 8allai l? 23 4*'1 26 INVENTOR. James B. f Blau ATTORNEY United StatesPatent O SELF-SHEDDIN DOWNSPOUT SHIELD FOR EAVES TROUGHS James B. Blau,Bridgeport, Conn. Application April 11, 1956, Serial No. 577,573A

1 claim. (cl. 10s-3o) This invention relates to a self-sheddingdownspout shield` for eaves troughs.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide adownspout shield for eaves trough which is self-shedding as a result ofthe water building up in the trough near the downspout so that thedebris, such as twigs, leaves and the like will be elevated by the wateras it passes to the downspout and along the shield to a location abovethe downspout and to the top of the trough so thatit lmaybe readilyremovedover the edge of the trough as it builds up over the shield andupon becoming dry by the wind that may traverse across the trough. j

It is another object of the invention to provide a selfsheddingdownspout for eaves troughs which is adapted not only to shed the leavesand twigs during the storm and the filling of the trough with water butwhich can be manipulated by a pull cord from below to hinge upwardly aportion of the shield and to cause any remaining debris to be positivelylifted over the edge of the trough and discharged therefrom.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a downspoutshield for eaves troughs wherein one of the elements of the shield isnot only adapted for upward movement to positively discharge the debrisbut is also so formed and shaped or skewed that the debris is not onlyworked upwardly over the downspout area but is worked forwardly towardthe front edge of the trough so that upon its arrival to the upper edgeof the trough it will lie adjacent to the front thereof so that it canbe readily and easily discharged or shedded therefrom. j

Other objects of the invention are to provide a selfshedding eavestrough which is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, hasa minimum number of parts, easy to install upon the trough over thedownspout thereof, of pleasing appearance, compact, easy to manipulate,effective and etlicient in use. r

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the downspout shieldof the present invention mounted in an eaves trough on the side of abuilding, i

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the trough and of thedownspout shield as viewed on line 2--2 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the downspout shield and of the trough, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the trough and one end of theshield and as viewed on line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the figures, 10 represents a building having aninclined roof 11 under, which an eaves trough 12 is mounted by brackets13 mounted underneath the lower edge of the roof 11 or eaves thereof.The trough 12 has a downspout projection 14 to which a downspout 15 isconnected and runs downwardly on the side of the building to a drain.Mounted in the downspout projection `14 and extending upwardly into thetrough is an anti-plugging device 16 adapted to impart air from a pointwithin the trough to a low point in the projection 14 so as to breakvacuum that may tend to stop the flow of water downwardly through thedownspout 15 as a result of any debris which might pile up thereover andto provide a fast action forthe ow of water along the trough and throughthe downspout.

To further prevent the flow of debris, such as leaves and twigs, to thedownspout 15 and to prevent the downspout from being clogged, there hasbeen provided a selfshedding downspout shield indicated generally at 17and adaptedto be mounted upon the eaves trough at the end thereof andover the downspout projection 14 thereof. This downspout shield;according to the present invention has an attaching `part 18 that isadapted to overlie the edges of the eaves trough 12. This elevated part18 has downwardly turned edges 19 and 20 adapted to receive the edges ofthe trough and to be slid therealong into a position overtheanti-clogging device 16. This elevated part 18 has hinge projections 21and 22 to which a skewed or` twisted shape strainer part 23 is hinged bymeans of the connection of its hinge portions 24 with the projections 21and` 22 and a hinge pin 25. Both of these parts 18 and 207are formed ofgalvanized metal and as shown are perforated to permit the passage ofwater from the upper places thereof to the bottom of the trough. Thehinge strainer part 23 is elongated and its free end is supported in thetrough so as to engage with the bottom thereof and to pick up theleaves. and twigs that may be moved along the trough by the ilow of thewater moving toward the downspout end thereof. The free end of theinclined strainer part 23 has laterallyextending clips or supportingprojections 25 and 26 adapted to overlie the edges of the trough and totix the free end of the inclined strainer part against upward movementfrom the trough and to hold the free end of the part iirmly anddownwardly against the 'bottom of the trough.4

Not only is this hingeable strainer part 23 inclined so that the debriswill be worked upwardly therealong as the water flows toward thedownspout within the trough but is constructed so that the rear faceportion of the part is more vertical or abrupt so that any tendency ofthe leaves or twigs to accumulate thereon is less greater than frontface portion of the strainer part 23, This is well illustrated in Fig. 4where the rear face portion is indicated at 23 and the leaves that maypile upon the face portion 23' will have a tendency to roll downwardlytoward the front face portion 23" so that the leaves or twigs uponarriving at the more elevated location of the strainer part 23 and uponthe horizontal or attaching part 18 will be adjacent to the forward edgeof the trough so that they will be more readily dis-l charged thereover.The heavier the flow of water along the trough the greater will be themovement of the debris therealong. Once the debris has arrived upon theelevated part the same will be cleared therefrom quite readily upon thispart 18 being Windswept. This will be particularly so when the leaves ortwigs have had an opportunity to dry and after the storm. It will thusbe seen that the movement of the debris is upwardly and forwardly towardthe edge of the trough 12 wherein it can be readily discharged.

At times when the amount of water has been insulticient to elevate thedebris well upwardly onto the attaching part 18 and it still remainsupon the part 23, such debris can be positively lifted out of the troughby this part 23 being hinged upwardly on the hinge pin 25. In order thatthis operation can be effected from a point upon the ground, a pull cordis extended upwardly over a pulley 28 on the upper end of a post 29secured to the 3,. end of the horizontal part 18 by bracket 30. Thispull cord is indicated at 31 and is" connected as indicated at 32 to thefree end of` the. inclined. strainer paprteza.kv By pulling the cord '31the free end of theV part; 23 is disconnected or separated fromthe edgesof the trough, the clip portions Z6 and 27 being disengaged therefromand the debris or leaves on thestrainer part 23 are'caused to besuddenly moved along the part` 23 in the same manner as being lifted`thereover by the water flow and directed toward the forward edge of thetrough so that they are spilled or discharged thereover.

It should now be apparent thatthere has been provided anv effective andet`cient self-shedding downspout shield for eaves ktrough-wherein thedebris ris worked along the inclined strainer surface to a horizontalsurface elevated over the edges of thel trough from which the same canbeeasilylshed vand discharged-from the eaves trough. v

It should be further apparent that not only are the leaves and sticksmovedL directlyupwardly but that they are shifted toward the'forwardedge of the trough at the same time due to the skewed shape ofthehingeable strainer part. Y

It should be further apparent thaty means `have been provided inconnection with the ydownspout shield wherein the hingeable part 'can beelevated to positively discharge any debris thatmay-remain'thereupon'and over the forward edge of the trough.`

While various changes maybe` made in the detail construction it shall beunderstood that suclr changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present in vention as denedby the Vappended claim.4

Whatis claimed is:-`

. and adapted to lie in the bottom of the trough with its said one endat the elevation of the horizontal surface of the horizontal part, clipprojections secured to the other end of the hinged inclined strainerpart adapted to engage the respective rear and forward edges of thetrough and to hold the said other end of the inclined part extendeddownwardly into the trough, said inclined strainer part being skewed tohave its rear face portion extending more vertically than the front faceportion so that the debris will be moved upwardly and toward the frontedge of the eaves, a post'extending upwardly from said ho'rizontal part,a pulley mounted upon the upper end of said post, and a pull cordextending upwardly over said pulley and connected to the free end of theinclined strainer part and by which said strainer part can be hingedupwardly to positively discharge debris therefrom onto the horizontalpart and over the forward edge `of the eavestrough.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS753,660 Boyer Mar 1, 1904 803,316 Vogel Oct. 3l, 1905 1,290,470 YordyJan. 7, 1919 1,553,426 Altenbern et al.- Sept. 15, 1925 SWeIlSOD18.1.1;24,

